Days After India's Taliban Outreach, China Huddles With Pakistan, Afghanistan

Days after India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke with the Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi - the first ministerial-level outreach by India to Afghanistan's Taliban administration, China has moved swiftly to organise a meeting between Islamabad and Kabul.

At the informal meeting, moderated by China's foreign minister Wang Yi, both Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed "in principle" to send ambassadors to each other's country as soon as possible. They also expressed their willingness to upgrade the level of diplomatic ties, a statement by China's foreign ministry has said.

CHINA ENGAGES AFGHANISTAN DIPLOMATICALLY

Besides the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also held bilateral talks with Afghanistan's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar separately.

Beijing, which aims to foster stronger ties between Islamabad and Kabul, has swung into action after seeing India's outreach to the Taliban administration. China was the first country to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-run administration in Kabul though it does not formally recognise its government. New Delhi, which has also kept diplomatic channels open, is yet to officially recognize the Taliban government.

THE AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN EQUATION

Ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained strained since December 2024, when nearly 50 people were killed in Afghanistan's Paktika province after Pakistan's air force bombed the region.

Seeing that most of those who died in the bombing were children and women, Pakistan has, till date, not officially confirmed that it was their military which carried out the action. Islamabad however, did say that it was carrying out "anti-terror operations" in Afghanistan against terrorist groups that act against Pakistan.

Over the years, Pakistan has been openly blaming Afghanistan for being a "safe haven" for terrorists targeting it - Kabul has rejected these allegations.

Afghanistan's Taliban administration has also expressed concern over the manner in which Pakistan was deporting tens of thousands of refugees. Mr Muttaqi had met his counterpart Ishaq Dar last month to address these concerns.

WHO SAID WHAT AFTER TODAY'S MEETING

Thanking China for facilitating talks with the Taliban, Pakistan's foreign office has "welcomed positive momentum in bilateral ties, including enhanced diplomatic engagement, trade, and transit facilitation."

China's foreign minister said that Beijing and Islamabad also agreed to support the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, and are willing to expand trade exchanges with Afghanistan. Mr Wang also mentioned that during talks all sides agreed on security cooperation, combating terrorist forces and safeguarding regional peace and stability.

Taliban's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also "emphasized the importance of political and economic relations with both countries and expressed hope for further progress in these areas in the future."

INDIA WIDENS COOPERATION WITH TALIBAN

India and the Taliban administration have been taking steps to strengthen ties since August 2021, when the regime came to power after US' withdrawal from Afghanistan. Over the years, a series of meetings between Indian diplomats and Taliban officials have worked towards broader cooperation between the two countries which have shared historic ties.

Though ties have not yet normalised, India's policy towards Afghanistan under the Taliban regime has been focused on providing humanitarian aid and the well-being of Afghan citizens. Diplomatic initiatives have also been ongoing towards bringing normalcy to ties. A series of diplomatic meetings have also taken place over the last one year.

A high-level meet also took place in Dubai in January this year, when foreign secretary Vikram Misri, along with an Indian delegation met Taliban's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and an Afghan delegation. The two leaders held wide-ranging bilateral talks, including on Chabahar Port.

The meeting in Dubai was aimed at bolstering cooperation over humanitarian aid, developmental assistance, trade, commerce, sports, cultural ties, regional security, and projects of national interest.

In recent times, the Government of India has also permitted the Taliban to gradually take control of the Afghan missions in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad in order to provide consular services to its nationals in India and assist those coming from Afghanistan to India on business or to study, or get medical care.

(Inputs from Reuters)